One winter's day in 1956, 15-year-old Yvonne Burgess waved goodbye to her parents as she boarded a train at Stoke station – and emerged at the other end of the line as Jackie Trent, destined to become one of pop’s greatest singers and song-writers.

Before long Jackie was a hit on the London nightclub circuit, singing at the world famous Windmill Club and then the Two Puddings Pub, where she won the favour of two notable regulars, the infamous Kray Twins.

By the time she hit her 20s she was an established singer who had toured the world entertaining the troops – twice narrowly escaping death after being caught up in terrorist attacks in Cyprus – had befriended the likes of Billy Fury and even been romanced by Elvis Presley.

But she is best known for her creative partnership with her second husband Tony Hatch – which was launched when the first song they wrote together, Where Are You Now, rocketed to number one in the pop charts in 1965, knocking Roger Miller’s King of the Road (and before that The Beatles with Ticket To Ride) from the top spot.

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The couple went on to write numerous hits for huge stars such as Petula Clark and Frank Sinatra. They later wrote successful musicals and moved to Australia where they enjoyed still more success and even penned the theme tune for the popular soap opera, Neighbours.

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Jackie died in 2015. But now her autobiography, Being Me, which she wrote with the encouragement and support of her third husband, Colin Gregory, has now been published – revealing Jackie’s remarkable story in her own words.

Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent, pictured in 1976.

Describing meeting Elvis in Germany – where she was booked to entertain troops at an army base – Jackie writes: “I walked in through the front door of a house in Bad Nauheim, off base, to find the King of Rock and Roll himself smiling shyly at me. ‘Welcome, priddy lady. Come sit he-ah. Ah’m Elvis’.

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“As if I needed to be told. I nearly fainted. The whole gang of us spent a great evening together, jamming. Elvis loved his gospel and church music. We belted out a few songs together but when he went into Amazing Grace I hollered, ‘can we have a key change? I’m singing in my boots’! The key went up a fourth. That was better. I could hit my notes again. ‘Girl you got lungs’, said Elvis.

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“We gave Elvis a private show, with him as guest singer. Beat that! Elvis Presley had natural charisma. When he sang it was straight at you, very personal and overpowering. He sure melted me.”

Jackie Trent in the 60s, having her hair done at her sister's hairdressers in Tunstall after hitting number one in the charts.

Jackie visited Elvis again during her short spell in Germany, when he played guitar and sang with her again. She adds: “We talked plenty, and I kind of fell in love with Elvis. For a while we slipped off into a back room and canoodled a little. ‘Y’all should come visit me in the States some time, Jackie’. I swooned my way out of that house, and out of Elvis’s life. We never did meet up again.”

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Jackie’s sister, Marilyn Pejic – who had a successful singing career herself under her stage name, Mally Page – said: “Jackie was a force to be reckoned with. Whenever she came home after being abroad in Germany or Cyprus, it was like a whirlwind. She would often turn up with lots of different people. I remember one time she turned up with Gene Vincent and him being tired – I remember telling all my school friends that Gene Vincent had slept in my bed. Life was always exciting when Jackie was around.”

With 12 albums, 51 singles and countless performances on stage and screen as a singer and actress, Jackie’s talent was admired by millions.

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Ray Parkes, aged 84, of Hanford, was one of Jackie’s first boyfriends and singing partners. He said: “Her talent and charm always shone through and I am very proud and fortunate to have known her, and more than proud to have sung with her.

“I used to go to her house and she would play piano and I would play guitar. She was a very good piano player. Our voices would seem to entwine together.”

Singer Jackie Trent.

Jackie’s friend, the Potteries entertainer Pete Conway, said: “I watched Jackie’s career blossom. Jackie does not get the recognition she deserves. She was a major star, a great soloist. She really put Stoke on the map. After Gertie Gitana, she was the first big star to come out of the city.

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Jackie – who had two children, Darren and Michelle – was actually born in Chesterton, but she felt a great affinity with the Potteries, so much so that when she changed her name from Yvonne Burgess as a teenager, she chose the surname ‘Trent’ to reflect the city she was leaving behind.

Jackie Trent with Danny La Rue.

In 1972, Jackie and Tony wrote We’ll Be With You, a celebration of Stoke City reaching the League Cup final. The song was recorded at the old Victoria Ground, when Jackie famously went out to meet the fans who had been drawn to the stadium to see her.

Former police officer Roger Owen, now aged 71, of Trentham, was at the Victoria Ground to control the crowd in the face of this famous star. He said: “There were a few hundred people there, people were pushing and trying to get to her. It was a really big deal. But Jackie was so down to earth. She spoke to you as if you had known her for years. She was a lovely lady.”

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Fellow ex-police officer John Pye, aged 67 of Newcastle, who met Jackie through his later writing career, said: “I got to know Jackie quite well. She was great, a wonderful person. Even in later life her voice was still wonderful and her songs were superb. When performing she was just wonderful.”

Jackie’s friend Mike Whittaker, aged 71, of Meir Park – who got to know Jackie after she offered to set up the Jackie Trent Scholarship, for aspiring stage performers – said: “I was first aware of Jackie in the 1960s, when she knocked Roger Whittaker off number one, with Where Are You Know. That song was originally recorded for a TV show, but people rang up and said, ‘where can I get a copy’.

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“I followed her career over the years. Then in 2004 it was the 25th anniversary of the first show presented by the youth section of the City Of Stoke-on-Trent Amateur Operatic Society, which was Rock Nativity by Jackie Trent and Tony Hatch. It is a fantastic show, so we decided to do it again for the 25th anniversary. She rang up out of the blue and asked if I would mind if she came to see it.

Jackie Trent during her first album signing session, 1965.

“She was incredibly generous. She asked if she could sponsor one of the young performers. She said how about £1,000. I said, ‘wow’, so she said, ‘okay, how about £2,000’, which I thought was fantastic.

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“I remember her from the 60s, but I didn’t realise until later just how brilliant the songs were.”

Jackie in 2014 with the actors who portrayed her life in the musical, The Jackie Trent Story. Pictured are (left to right) Catherine O'Reilly, Charlotte Nita Murfin, Jackie, and Ann McCardle.

Ann McArdle, aged 79, of Basford played Jackie in the sell-out musical, Jackie: The Jackie Trent Story, which played at Stoke Repertory Theatre. She said: “I don’t think Stoke-on-Trent has given Jackie the recognition she deserves.

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“She was a wonderful, wonderful person. I had always followed her career and when I got the role, I thought, ‘I am going to do her proud’. When I met Jackie I felt that I had known her all my life. She was so warm and so easy to talk to.